The Lion of Azeroth
by Will of the Emperor
Summary: Space Marine finds himself on Azeroth and helps humanity in their desperate stand for survival. My first story written in about 10 years, so language may be a little off, will improve based upon comments section!
1. Chapter 1

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter One

Turglynn Galehammer was wary. He had been behind enemy lines in Silverpine Forest for a month now, trying to find any humans who may be still clinging to life in the dark Forsaken controlled territory. Turglynn still had trouble explaining to himself why he went on this quest, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. After all, was it not doubts that lead the once noble Prince Arthas to become the dreaded Lich King? Although the Lich King had been vanquished from this world, his shadow still loomed and the effects of his conquest of Lordaeron still lingered, with the once proud capital city not belonging to the proud humans, but rather in the possession of the vile Forsaken.

A rustle of the bushes behind Turglynn snapped him from his inner monologue and he readied his sword and shield. Both were ornate works made from the best smiths and artificers of the Argent Crusade, rewarded to Turglynn from Highlord Fordring himself for his valour at the Battle of Icecrown Citadel. "Wow, age sure has taken your sense of awareness, or have you just been drinking too much?" said a deep voice. As the figure stepped out into the open, Turglynn found himself relieved. It was his old friend Mathias Dmytrow. Himself and Mathias were old friends from way back when they both joined the Order of the Silver Hand at the same time to fight the evils of the Scourge and Burning Legion. Since they joined, they went on almost every quest together, although Mathias did not see much action in Northrend as he was wounded with a poison arrow early in the campaign and was forced to return to Stormwind against his wishes for medical treatment. Now Mathias had decided to join Turglynn on his quest to help find any enduring humans who may still be alive in Silverpine Forest. After some stupid banterabout Turglynn being a communist Horde lover, Mathias' mood turned serious. "Turglynn, there is something up ahead which you must see to completely believe." Turglynn suddenly became nervous, as Mathias was normally a very relaxed person and whenever he became serious something bad was about to happen. Against his better judgement, Turglynn followed Mathias into the heavy underbrush.

The great man awoke. Every part of his being was in immense pain as he struggled to remember what happened and what he was doing. The man then instantly snapped to attention as he opened his eyes, remembering that he was in the middle of a battle against the chaos spawn who used to be his friend, Luther. As the Lion opened his eyes, he noticed that he was no longer in the ruins of the fortress of Aldurukh, but in the middle of a dank forest, filled with an otherworldy fog. Seeing as he was in a foreign environment with no intelligence on it, the Lion reached for his sword, but unfortunately realized that it must have been lost or destroyed in his titanic battle against the daemon prince Luther. He used his super human strength and conditioning to push the pain below in order to steady himself. He slowly began to rise, his entire body screaming in protest, but he overcame the pain and stood up, surveying his surroundings. He was in a clearing in the woods, and it was approaching dusk. His super human smell and hearing detected something approaching and he waited for it.

As Turglynn followed Mathias, he wondered what could make him become so serious. He had never seen Mathias this serious, even when the poison arrow of a traitor cultist threatened his very life. "Be quiet", muttered Mathias, and Turglynn snapped back to reality. As the two paladins crouched low in the brush, they came close to a clearing, and Mathias pointed. A figure standing a tall as an ogre was in the middle of clearing. It wore ornately crafted armor beyond any design Turglynn had ever seen or heard of. It was the colour of black steel, which encased him completely except for his head. Trimmed in gold and white, it was the work of a master beyond mortal comprehension. Bulky plates covered each other and the armour looked quite cumbersome, but Turglynn believed that the armour was most likely weightless to the wearer. Turglynn's eyes were drawn to the dominating feature of the armour, a giant two-headed eagle on the breastplate of this magnificent suit of armour. Once he tore his eyes away from the impressive artifice, he looked onto the creature's face. It was a scarred face, appearing black in colour. The hair was completely matted to the head, covered in what looked to be blood. The most surprising fact was the he massive _thing_ appeared to be human.

Mathias saw the look on Turglynn's face as he realized that this creature appeared to be human. "Turg, I am going to try to make contact with it", Mathias whispered. "Are you insane? It looks likes he could kill you by just snapping his fingers!" Exclaimed Turglynn. "We came here to find fellow humans, and we have found one, why is he any different than the others?" Mathias retorted. Turglynn knew that his friends mind was made up and there would be no stopping him from doing what he wished. "Lead the way" said Turglynn, resigning himself to Dmytrow's will.

They stepped into the clearing adrenaline, pumping through their veins. The great man looked at them and spoke, "I am Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the first Legion of the Adeptus Astartes, the Dark Angels. I welcome this world and it's human inhabitants to join the great Imperium of Man and take their rightful place as the rulers of the galaxy." Mathias was at a loss for what to do. What was this "Imperium of Man", and what were these "Adeptus Atartes"? Mathias decided to break the silence, "Lion El'Jonson, I am Mathias Dmytrow of the Order of the Silver Hand, and this is my friend Turglynn, also of the same Order. We are paladins dedicated to the survival of the Alliance here on Azeroth. Although we have never heard of this Imperium of Man, we welcome you to come join the City of Stormwind, the last bastion of human strength in this world"

Lion El'Jonson looked at the two people in front of him. They reminded him of the knightly orders that existed on Caliban before the Emperor came. Both were garbed in what appeared to be steel plate armour, well crafted although it was quite dirtied at the moment. The one that identified himself as Mathias was about 6 feet tall and was a human. The other one, who went by the name Turglynn was about 4 feet tall, and although he had many characteristics of a human, he was quite sure he was not one. Both of the "paladins" were armed with impressively made swords and shields, and although the Lion knew he could easily take both of them in a fight, he decided to join them to learn about this world he was currently on.


	2. Chapter 2: Ashes to Ashes

_Soulless Reader: To the best of my knowledge (Fallen Angels novel and Lexicanum) the battle happened in Aldurukh, the name of the Fortress of the Dark Angels. Most likely the Tower of Angels is a specific tower in the fortress of Aldurukh._

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter Two

Deathstalker Keydra surveyed the path. There were rumours of two Alliance paladins in the area and the Deathstalker intended to kill them for the glory of the Dark Lady. She had figured that this was the best place for an ambush, her and her fellow Forsaken were hidden in an abandoned watchtower just outside the human settlement of Southshore. "These Human scum will pay for trespassing on the territory of the Dark Lady" the Deathstalker thought to herself. Three figures appeared on the horizon. As the figures drew closer Keydra took a look at them to see what they were up against. First she saw a dwarf clad in plate armor, no real threat she thought. The second figure was another plate clad warrior, this time a human, again she thought nothing of it. She had slain many of their kind before, and these two should be no different. It was the third figure that made her nervous. It was a walking behemoth, clad in ornate armour never seen by her. Although she was quite sure he was human, he was many feet taller than the other human in the party. He was not armed, but she was quite sure he would be quite a threat to the ambush. A fellow Deathstalker, Ramiel, walked up to her. "Should we continue the ambush milady?" he inquired. She could sense the unease in his voice as he said this. All of here troops were quite nervous at the sight of this walking steam tank. Keydra decided to address her troops, "Soldiers of the Forsaken, hear me!" she whispered, "Today we prove to the Alliance that they cannot walk into our territories and take what ever they please. Some of you are nervous and I understand that. That walking behemoth with them looks powerful but it is most likely a slow lumbering brute. Today we prove our devotion to the Dark Lady and the Horde!" Keydra looked around at her troops, their spirits had greatly lifted and they were ready for the upcoming fight.

Keydra's troops had maintained iron discipline while waiting for the upcoming skirmish. She ordered her mage Mikhail to set up at the top of the tower, so he would have a good field of fire to rain hell down upon the humans. She had her four archers set up at the base of the tower, hiding behind the decrepit walls, along with the foot soldiers who would rush out after the first hail of arrows. The Alliance scum were close at hand, so Keydra ordered her archers and mage to be ready. When the Alliance pigs were within ten meters, they stopped and looked at the tower. Not wishing to lose the element of surprise Keydra ordered her archers and mage to open fire.

The first hail was not nearly as devastating as Keydra had wished. The two paladins raised their shields when they heard the twang of the bows and the arrows bounced harmlessly off them. However, Mikhail unleashed a giant ball of flame at the treacherous Alliance and turned the human paladin into a charred husk of the man, leaving only the sword and a pile of ash where he once stood. The armoured behemoth then reached down and grabbed the sword of the fallen paladin and unleashed a howling war cry of "FOR THE EMPEROR!" The behemoth raced towards them, covering a gigantic amount of ground in an extremely short time, and Keydra was full of fear, something very uncommon for the Forsaken. She then saw something to lift her spirits, a giant fire ball blazing towards the lumbering armoured figure. The fire ball hit the figure and erupted into a giant inferno. "Surely nothing could survive that" thought Keydra, but she was wrong. The Lion burst from the blaze and cut down two of the skirmishers in a single powerful blow. Deathstalker Ramiel rushed towards the man sword lifted above his head. The behemoth simply punched the Deathstalker before he could even lower his sword. As the black armour-clad giant withdrew his fist, it was covered in coagulated gore, and Ramiel had a moment of horror as he realised there was now a fist sized hole where his chest had once been. The Deathstalker's lifeless form dropped to the ground and that was what broke the moral of the Forsaken. They attempted to run away, but the giant cut them all down with broad strokes of his sword, splattering the area with gore.

Turglynn looked on in awe as he witnessed the whirlwind of fury which called itself Lion El'Jonson. He had never seen a fighting force as formidable as this man, or as crazy as him, willing to run into the ranks of the Forsaken by himself with reckless abandon. As he was still trying to close the distance to the Forsaken, Turglynn saw that half of the undead monstrosities were already lying on the ground, either slashed into pieces by the sword of his fallen friend, or they were more sloppily torn to pieces by the immense strength of this being.

As the Forsaken broke rank and ran, Jonson began to cut them down mercilessly, the foul beings having no place on this human world. Although none could match him in combat, one managed to escape his reach as the wretch fled the battle. As he went to give chase, decided to allow the _dwarf_ some bit of honour and glory in the battle, and also wished to size of the martial prowess of his companion. As he looked into the distance, he saw the dwarf paladin throw what appeared to be a hammer made out of pure lightning at the running adversary. The hammer hit the Forsaken square in between the shoulder blades causing it to drop.

Turglynn walked towards Jonson, trembling. He had never heard of anyone going into a fray like that and living to tell the tale, but in front of him was living proof that it was possible. The only thing he was able to think of that was able to put up that much of a fight was the demon crazed Orcs. He was in his thirties when the Orcs attempted to attack Ironforge and he saw the havoc they could unleash, but even in the throes of their bloodlust, they paled in comparison to the _man_, if he was a man at all.

Lion El'Jonson approached the dwarven paladin. "What were those _things_?" Jonson asked, clearly disgusted by their appearance. "Those were the Forsaken, undead abominations who wish for nothing but the death of the living. They used to be noble humans of the Kingdom of Lordaeron but after Prince Arthas betrayed his father, King Terenas, all the humans of Lordaeron were consumed by the undead Scourge. With the weakening of the Lich King, some were able to break free and start their nation of Forsaken, a mockery of the former glory of Lordaeron." Turglynn replied, giving as quick of a response as possible. The Lion growled clearly angered by this explanation, "There is nothing worse than the traitor, where I am from a horrible traitor managed to cripple my father and caused the deaths of many of my brothers. All they deserve is death." The dwarf stated, "Alas, we finally killed the vile traitor Arthas though, in his fortress of Icecrown Citadel. I was there when he fell, but it was a shallow victory. Lord Fordring himself fell to the might of the traitor prince before he was finally taken down." The Lion was dumbstruck. How much of what happened on this world mirrored what happened to the Imperium of Man!

Turglynn the turned his attention to the corpse of his friend, and sorrow struck him like a hammer to the chest. Although Mathias was many years his younger in age, they still formed a very strong friendship, and now all that was gone, taken by some Forsaken swine. The Lion approached him, a grim look on his face, "In the short time I knew Mathias with the conversation we had, I knew he was a good man. There is no greater honour for a man to fall in the defense of his comrades." Turglynn felt a sense of relief wash over him. If this man thought that Mathias was a good man, what more was there to be desired? "Southshore is just a small ways away", said Turglynn, "we can get a shovel there and give Dmytrow a proper burial." With that being said, Jonson went over and gingerly picked up Mathias' corpse, cradling it in his massive, armor-clad arms. The rest of the trip to Southshore was uneventful, and when they arrived they asked one of the farmers who were out in their field working for a shovel. The farmer quickly ran inside and got one, most likely out of fear of the armoured behemoth behind him. They dug a grave and laid Mathias to rest under a great tree looking over the ocean. Turglynn gave a prayer to the Light and heard Jonson say some sort of Litany in a language he could not understand.


	3. Chapter 3: First Impressions

_Ok, I have not been writing for quite a while and I apologize for it, this chapter got deleted twice over so it may seem a little weak. Also, I started to paint my Dark Angels army (gogo intrinsic bias!) again so that is taking up a fair bit of my time, but I should be updating this story much more frequently than once a month._

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter Three

Lion El'Jonson was amazed by this world called Azeroth. The only memories he had of a world this clean and pristine was that of Caliban, with its lush forests and beautiful mountain ranges.

"This land we are travelling is called Dun Morogh milord, home of the Dwarven people. Soon we will be arriving at the capital city of Ironforge." Turglynn said.

"I thought we were going to the human capital Stormwind City." said Jonson.

"We are my good man; the very cities are linked to each other! To go to one means that you will be going to the other sooner or later. Anyways, we should set camp here. It is getting dark and if we head off early tomorrow we should make it to Ironforge by the late afternoon."

The Lion took purchase the environment; it was quickly turning to dusk and the dwarf was right in the idea to set up camp. After Turglynn gathered enough kindling they quickly had a sizable fire going. Jonson sat down and hit the release hinges on his left pauldron, gingerly removed it, and took a cloth seemingly out of nowhere and began to wipe the grime off of it, as his entire suit of power armour was now filthy due to the weeks of nonstop travelling that they had been doing. Jonson has learned the history of this world in his talks with Turglynn. He knew about the First and Second Wars, where humanity was almost brought to extinction, he learned about the brave sacrifice of Turalyon and his compatriots to save the world from the demonic orcs. He learned of the demonic incursions of the Third War and how the humans worked together with the barbaric Orcs. Jonson was troubled by this. He had never known an Orc to be civil, rather only looking for a fight. He had slaughtered thousands of them and they all looked the same to him. How could the ones on this world be any different?

Morning quickly rolled around and Jonson snapped to his feet ready to go. He spent the night earlier cleaning his armour to some sort of semblance of being clean, because Turglynn told him that he sent a messenger ahead to secure an audience with the King of the Dwarves. After walking for a few hours in a snowy road, the two companions approached a gigantic ramp that was leading up to the top of the mountain. Turglynn quickly lead Jonson up the ramp, as he took the view in. He saw the burned out husk of two tanks, sitting on the side of the ramp, a relic from one of the wars this world had seen, no doubt. As they reached the top of the ramp, a plateau appeared, with an impressive gate of solid steel opening into the face of a mountain like some great beast. Jonson was impressed at how magnificent this whole set up was and how defensible from siege it was.

Turglynn turned around, looking quite excited, "Welcome to the home of the Dwarves, Lion El'Jonson." A broad smile broke across the face of Turglynn as he said this, clearly happy to be home.

As Jonson walked into the gaping maw of the mountain, the Dwarven folk jaws dropped in awe of him. Never before had any of them seen such a being. Jonson had grown used to this by now though, as it happened every time they went to a town on their way to Ironforge. As Jonson walked through the city, he was impressed with its architecture, being carved out of the very mountain. There was a bustling of activity going on throughout the city and he saw humans and dwarves co-mingling, a extremely short species that looked humanoid which stood no taller than two feet, Turglynn said they were called gnomes, and two xenos races, one which resembled the Eldar but had a purplish hue to its skin, and the other he could not compare to anything he knew. It had human like features, blueish skin, they possessed a short tail and had legs that ended with hooves instead of feet. Xenos scum he thought to himself. While on the Great Crusade, he had whole worlds killed for less of a reason than the mockery of a society found here. He could tolerate the dwarves and gnomes working with the humans due to their close resemblance, but these two xenos races were unacceptable.

"Xenos." Jonson growled to himself. How could the humans dare to work with the xenos filth? If he had his Legion with him, this world would be just another lifeless rock by now, floating through the void. He had to calm himself, rationalizing his actions. Surely these humans were deserving of knowing of the Imperial Truth and if they rejected it, well he would plan from there. Yes, that is what the whole Great Crusade was about, was it not? To show Humanity the error of its ways and bring it into the light of his Father's wisdom.

Just at the moment, Jonson and Turglynn went around a corner, and what Jonson saw froze him in surprise. A massive forge complex, based in the very heart of the mountain, surrounded by molten lava appeared, a testament to the architectural prowess of the dwarves. This was the last thing Jonson expected to see and was thoroughly impressed by it.

"Impressive is it not?" Turglynn inquired, amused by the surprised look on Jonson's otherwise emotionless face.

"It is quite impressive indeed my good dwarf. It is much like many of the forges that exist in the Imperium of Man, albeit much smaller."

At that Turglynn's mind started to wander. Ironforge was possibly the greatest feat of architecture and engineering in all of Azeroth, yet this man said it was "like many". How large was this "Imperium of Man" to have many forges like the Great Forge and for them to be larger. Turglynn's mind began to spin at the prospect of a forge being larger than the Great forge.

"Well here we are." Turglynn said, he stopped walking as he neared the entrance to a large room which was heavily guarded. From what Jonson gathered, this was the throne room of Magni Bronzebeard, king of the dwarves.

Magni Bronzebeard had a headache. It was a nagging one that wouldn't go away mainly because the headache was in the form of the ambassadors from the other races of the Alliance. While he was perfectly fine with the Stormwind ambassador, namely because they shared the same points of view on everything, the other ambassadors were really starting to annoy him with their constant bickering. By this time Magni had drowned them out, but he knew what they were all trying to argue for. The Gnomeregan ambassador was arguing that Ironforge should divert troops from the main war with the Alliance to retake Gnomeregan from the troggs. The Draenei ambassador was saying of how Ironforge should refocus its production power to help them repair the Exodar, so it would be more defensible from the orcs should they assault it. Finally, the Night Elf ambassador was demanding that troops be withdrawn from Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley in order to stop the Horde from chopping down some trees. The whole time, the Stormwind ambassador was recommending that King Bronzebeard jsut stay the course and help the humans of Stormwind stop the Horde from advancing on the Eastern Kingdoms.

Just as the Night Elf ambassador was loudly complaining, a dwarven aide scurried into the room, and whispered into the King's ear that the guest had arrived. With a loud yell, Magni called for silence and surprisingly, all the delegates kept their mouths shut.

It was at that moment that the figure walked into the room. While he could not make out fine details from such a distance, he could tell the figure was human. Although it seemed like that would be the understatement of his life. As the figure strode forwards, Magni had thoughts that were awe and fear, mingled together. The man was huge, easily over 8 feet tall, and wore black and gold armour with a quality of craftsmanship he had never seen. However he knew this armour was not just for decoration. There were dents in the armour from battle, but those served to make the armour all the more impressive. It looked bulky and had the appearance that it would weigh hundreds of pounds, but the behemoth carried himself as if he wore nothing but a simple shirt and pants.

As he entered the middle of the room he stopped, and began to speak in a booming, echoing voice.

"In the name of the Emperor of Mankind and the Imperium of Mankind I greet you. I am Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels, the First Astartes Legion. I come to you from Terra, biding you welcome into the arms of humanity, and to take your rightful place amongst the stars as rulers of the galaxy."


	4. Chapter 4: So it Begins

_Holy crap long time since an update! Well remodelling a basement will make than happen I guess! Here is chapter four, hope you guys like it! It was hard to write because I have some awesome battles planned out but writing talking is really hard for me. So one ore two more chapters of talking then we get to some nice hardcore gut wrenching action! Also, please R&R, it is hard to write when it feels like only two people are reading your work =).  
_

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter Four

A stunned silence washed over the room. Everyone was trying to process what this "Lion El'Jonson" had just said. They knew of the existence of other planets, Draenor was testament to that, but an empire that spanned across the stars? That was unheard of. Also he mentioned an Emperor. Who could be so incorruptible to be able to control an entire galaxy and not let all the power go to his head? It was unfathomable.

"What do you mean by Imperium of Man?" The Stormwind ambassador managed to stutter out.

"It is the most powerful empire the galaxy has ever seen. With the Emperor of Mankind guiding us, my brothers and I, who are his sons, have waged war for centuries, reclaiming worlds that have been lost." As Jonson said this, his posture straightened, although it already seemed like it could not go any more proper.

"So what do you want with us?" Asked the Draenei representative, his fear being quite evident in his voice.

Jonson on the inside was furious. For a xenos to even think they had a place in the Imperium filled him with rage. However, he could use these xenos to further his goals here, because from what Turglynn described to him about the Horde he would need all the help he could get.

"All I ask of you is to help me make this world right for the Imperium. And that involves the removal of the Horde from it."

It was at that moment when King Magni finally spoke, "And just how are we supposed to do that? The Horde have us matched in military might and industrial capacity. We cannot possibly hope to win a war against them without massive casualties. The orcs are a dangerous, formidable foe. Whilst I personally believe that getting rid of the Horde would be the best thing for Azeroth, I have no control over what my fellow faction members believe. Also, who would lead the armies of the Alliance? Both sides have generals beyond compare, and we would need the best if we were to have any hopes of winning."

"I will lead the armies if you would let me" proclaimed Lion El'Jonson, "I have fought in the name of my father for hundreds of years. Countless planets have been brought to heel at my word. I would be honoured if you allowed me the privilege to lead your forces."

Unsurprisingly, the Stormwind ambassador stepped forwards, "While I will have to talk to King Varian Wrynn, you should be able to expect the military might of Stormwind to aid your cause." It was easy to see the pride swelling within the ambassador. To him this was the dawning of a new and glorious age for the Alliance, and the removal of the most hated orcs from their world.

The ambassador from Gnomeregan scurried forwards. "If we were to supply you with our mechanical prowess and technology, after the war would you help us take back our beloved city of Gnomeragan?"

Jonson knew that this would be a good deal. From what Turglynn had told him about the Gnomes, they were essentially the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Alliance. Unfortunately they had no titans to be used against the Horde due to their rather primitive technology. A Warmonger Titan would make short work of anything the Horde could muster. But Jonson could dream couldn't he? Still, although their tech was primitive, it would have its uses on the battlefield.

"While I cannot vouch for your allies, I myself will personally help you take back your city after the Horde has been eliminated from with world." Jonson said this as sincere as he could sound as he had every intention of keeping this promise.

"Then you should be able to expect the people of Gnomeregan to help you!" The small humanoid squeaked this out with joy. Finally after many years, the Gnomish people had the hope to return home! They would finally be able to be a real nation again!

The Stormwind ambassabor nudged King Magni. With a heavy heart, knowing that many dwarven people would die in the conflict, Magni made up his mind. "If our loyal allies of Stormwind are to go to battle, then the Dwarves shall march with our comrades in arms just as we have done many times before." The Stormwind Ambassador was absolutely gleeful at this proclamation with a huge grin on his face.

Ambassador Rawina Silverwind of Darnassus was stricken beyond belief. A complete human stranger had effectively just taken control of over half of the Alliance. This troubled her. While she had no doubt that the man was a brilliant general, would it really be enough to stop the overly aggressive Horde? With Garrosh being the new Warchief after Thrall mysteriously disappeared she knew that the only way to stop the Horde from completely clear cutting Ashenvale forest was to wage an all out war against them. With each passing day more and more of Ashenvale was reduced to cinders and ash. Was this man the key to winning this war?

"The Night Elves of Darnassus have grown weary with a continuous battle with the Horde. Ashenvale Forest is slowly dying. If nothing is done soon one of the most majestic forests on Azeroth will be gone forever. While I wish for nothing more than our species to live peacefully, with the current aggression of the Horde I fear it is not so. I will consult with my leader and see what they wish to do." Rawina finished speaking with a sombre tone in here voice. She knew that unless something was done, many Night Elves would be killed in the upcoming conflict.

All attention was now on the Draenei ambassador, Valum Opherah. With essentially three votes in favour of going to war with the Horde and on abstaining vote, nothing Valum did would really make a world of difference. So he tried to pave a path for peace, rather than one of complete bloodshed.

"Well it leaves me saddened to see that so many members of the Alliance are eager for war than for a peaceful agreement", he said looking at the Stormwind ambassador, "but I will go against what my Eastern Kingdom counterparts have done and not promise any troops to the upcoming war unless an attempt at peace is made with the Horde. We should not be so willing to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers if a peaceful resolution could be made."

Jonson was about to open his mouth, a look of pure rage on his face from what the Drainei had just said. Fortunately King Magni intervened just in time to stop Jonson from throttling the ambassador to death.

"You have given us much to think about Lion El'Jonson. I will order a meeting between all the leaders of the Alliance and we will decide what to do then. Until that time though I invite you to stay in Ironforge as my person guest. Anything you need just ask for it and you shall have it."

To the ambassadors he said, "Go now to your leaders and tell them to come here. The gnomes will open portals to your respective cities, I expect you and your leaders here in a week."

As all the delegates became to walk out of the room, the human diplomat approached Jonson.

"Milord" he said, bowing low to the ground, "it is an honour to meet you. I must let you know that Stormwind will back you 100% of the way, no matter how much the other nations may turn against you and try to weasel out of their role in the Alliance. King Wrynn will be here tomorrow, if you could spare some time for him I am sure he would be quite thrilled to meet you."

"I would be honoured to meet King Wrynn." Jonson said, bowing slightly. From what he knew King Wrynn he would make a fine planetary governor. He pretty much towed the Imperial line to the letter without ever have even being taught of it.

With this the human quickly said a thanks and walked away no doubt to bring the news to his lord. With nothing else to do, Jonson wander to what he was told was the "War Quarter" of Ironforge, so he could learn the military capabilities of the Alliance.


	5. Chapter 5: Honour and Diplomacy

_Thanks for the support. Hopefully you guys like this chapter. Next chapter you can expect a fair bit of action as most of the talking is done now. While I know some of you really like the story, lets try to keep the comments section tame. Thanks!_

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter Five

In that one night after the meeting with King Magni, Lion El'Jonson knew almost everything there was to know about the military capabilities of the Alliance. Those who taught him of them were amazed at his speed of learning, acting most like a sponge around water, just absorbing the knowledge of everything around him. He read whole tomes in minutes, filing away all the information to be brought up at later times.

By the time morning came about, he had already made a plan to take over Azeroth. It would be monumental effort given the technology he had at his disposal, but he knew he would be able to manage it. He would first need to secure the Eastern Kingdoms which was where the bulk of their military force rested. Two armies would head out, one from Stormwind to expunge the Horde from Stranglethorn Vale and one from Ironforge up to the Thandol Span, so as to stop the Horde from encroaching into significant Alliance territory, once that was accomplished, the Alliance would then push northward, forcing out all of the wretched Forsaken and traitorous Blood Elves.

As Jonson swam in his own thoughts, a gnome knocked on the entrance to the room Jonson was in.

"Milord, King Wrynn has arrived in Ironforge and is requesting an audience with you." The small gnome sputtered out, clearly terrified of Jonson's stature.

"Thank you gnome. Now if you would be so kind, may you please guide me to him?" Jonson said this as benignly as possible, not wishing to scare the gnome any more than he already had.

Varian Wrynn always knew that one day the Horde's reign of terror over the citizens of the Alliance would end, and he was thrilled to hear that a man had come which had finally united the Alliance in a clear goal. From what the messenger told him, the man was a giant, taller than anything he had ever seen, clad in the most artfully crafted armor of black and gold. Wrynn did not believe everything about the man that was said, holding it mostly to exaggeration. Suddenly a knock came on the door.

"King Wrynn, Lion El'Jonson is here to see you." A guard of his announced, a slight tremor in his voice.

Varian thought nothing of it as he told the guard to let him enter. As he finished the sentence a great mass completely filled the frame of the door, blacking all light from entering. As the figure stepped closer, Wrynn saw that everything that was said about Jonson was true in every sense of the word. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the armoured gargant, he managed to speak.

"Lord Lion El'Jonson, I am Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind, the last bastion of human strength on this world. It is my understanding that you seemed to have convinced most of the factions to join you, how you did that is a wonder to me, accomplishing in less than an hour what I had been working on for months. And for that you have my eternal gratitude."

The Primarch was sizing Varian Wrynn up. He was clad in dark blue and gold armour, with two finely crafted swords dangling from his sides. A warrior-king Jonson thought to himself. This was a man which would not hesitate to be right in the thick of battle on the frontline, risking his own life for his soldiers.

"I am pleased to meet you King Wrynn," as Jonson said this he bowed "it warms my heart to see that men not under the control of the Imperium still take up arms and fight the xenos. In due time this planet will be free of the clutches of the greenskin and humanity may then live in peace."

With that, Lion El'Jonson and Varian Wrynn entered a deep discussion about the upcoming war and how it would be waged. They both agreed on the same plan that Jonson had thought of earlier, then thought of how to leverage the other factions into the war. From what Wrynn told Jonson, it seemed like waging the war would be the easy part. As their meeting drew to a close, King Wrynn asked one of his guards to give him a package. King Wrynn then passed it to Lion El'Jonson.

"Jonson, what I am about to give you means very much to the people of Stormwind. It belonged to our greatest hero, Anduin Lothar. He was the man who raised me like a son and taught me the ways of war. He lead the Alliance against the Horde and although he was slain, he was successful in riding the world of the Orcs, albeit temporarily." Varian said this with a tone of reverence, out of great respect to the fallen hero.

"To you I give you his sword, Ashkandi, the Greatsword of the Brotherhood. It is a blade of artful craftsmanship and enchanted by my finest mages to cut through armour as if nothing is there. I give you this blade knowing that you will fulfill the dream that Lothar had, of a world free from the clutches of the Orcs."

As Varian was talking, Jonson opened the wrapping on the package. A great sword resided inside and with great tenderness Jonson lifted it. As Jonson examined the blade, he knew this was crafted as finely as an Imperial powersword. The blade held a faint blue glow, no doubt being the enchantments that Wrynn had talked about. It was a massive sword, but he weighed it in one hand. It was perfectly balanced, and it felt perfect in his hand. The only other weapon that felt this natural to him was the Lion Sword, but that was a lost relic now.

"King Wrynn, words cannot express my gratitude at this gift you have given me. I swear to you until my dying breath I will fight to fulfill the dream of Anduin Lothar, no matter the cost." As Jonson said this, he bowed deeply, honoured by the weapon he had been granted.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, with Jonson having frequent visits with King Wrynn. Finally though, all of the leaders of the Alliance arrived in Ironforge, to discuss the topic of war. It was agreed upon that Lion El'Jonson would not be allowed into the talks, mainly due to the fact that his size would intimidate everyone who disagreed with him. So to keep things fair, he had to wait outside.

The hours dragged on as Jonson waited outside the throne room, his mind racing through the possibilities. If they were to not go to war what would he do then? Would he wage a one man war against both factions? He had no doubt he could cause much damage but eventually he would be laid low. As he pondered this, the doors finally cracked open, and the leaders walked out of the room.

"So what is the decision?" Jonson asked impatiently.

"We have decided to go to war." This response came from a human female, wearing a deep purple cloak and wielding a staff. "However, before war is declared we will first offer the Horde a chance for peace. We will give any members of the Horde safe passage to the Dark Portal and allow them to move to the Outlands. If all members of the Horde do this there will be no need for war."

Jonson was pleased with this. If the horde all left, countless humans lives could be saved. If not, they would go ahead with his plan.

The woman continued, "To head the party which will bring this offer to the Horde, I Jaina Proudmoore will attend, along with Varian Wrynn and Lion El'Jonson. I will open a portal to Orgimmnar so we may give the Horde this offering. While there I ask you that you do not needlessly enrage them, it will make this all the harder."

The woman, who called herself Jaina then began to chant and a portal appeared before here. It was most convenient Jonson thought, her being able to do this. Slowly, following Jaina's example he stepped into the portal.

The sight that greeted him on the other side was not pleasant. Armoured orcs quickly circled the group, holding their axes ready to strike. While Jonson had no doubt he could easily dispatch all of the greenskins, he knew he should not, knowing it would hurt their efforts. A hole then appeared in the armoured circle and a brown skinned orc stepped through.

"What is the meaning of the intrusion?!" The orc spat, his tone full of malice and hate.

"We come to you with an offering of peace Garrosh." Jaina said this coolly, even so, he could see Varian's hands were wandering towards the hilts of his swords.

Jonson stepped forwards, his voice booming, "It is time humanity retakes this planet from you greenskins. However before we declare war against you, we come with a deal. We will grant any of your members safe passage to the Dark Portal and to the Outlands. Any who take this offer will be spared. Any which resist shall die."

Garrosh yelled, pure rage and hatred oozing from his every word, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE HUMAN? YOUR KIND IS ALL WEAK! NOTHING CAN STAND AGAINST THE HORDE! GUARDS SEIZE THEM!!!!!"

The guards quickly approached and grabbed Jaina and Varian but were unable to get a hand on Jonson. With lightning reflexes, his hand shot out, grabbing one of the orcs by the head. He lifted the orc off the ground effortlessly, and spoke, "Release my companions." His voice boomed through the room but he remained calm, knowing he could not lose the leaders of the Alliance. The orc in his grasp was flailing, smashing it's axe against his breastplate, having no effect.

Slowly, the guards backed off, letting Jaina and the King go. With needing to be told, Jaina started to create a portal to Ironforge so that they could leave this accursed place.

"Now listen carefully greenskin. You have one month to make up your mind. If you do not take our offer at the end of it, my wrath will befall you and your entire damnable race. I will see to the destruction of everything your species holds dear. I will personally kill every single one of your kind so that they will never haunt this place again." As he said the, the orc in his hand stopped fighting. All eyes were on him and he knew what he had to do.

"Jaina, King Wrynn, go through the portal. I will meet you on the other side."

The moment they disappeared into the shimmering void, Jonson said darkly, "Let this serve as a warning." With that there was a sickening crunch as the head of the orc Lion El'Jonson was holding was crushed, covering Jonson's hand in blood and gore, the lifeless corpse dropping to the ground. He the spat on the corpse and watched as his saliva ate through the xenos body.

With that, he turned and disappeared into the portal.


	6. Chapter 6: The Battle of Thandol Span

_Sorry for the wait, yes I am lazy, well here you go:_

The Lion of Azeroth

Chapter Six

One month had come and gone, and there was no word from the Horde of them willing to back down. Infront of Jonson stood one of the most powerful armies that Azeroth had ever seen. It consisted of the entirety of the Seventh Legion, now renamed the First Stormwind Regiment, along with two other regiments, each twenty thousand men strong. A podium was set up infront of the statue of Turalyon in the Valley of Heroes and the mighty Primarch watched beside the king as the mighty army marched passed them, all clad in full suits of plate. The plan was simple really. After Jonson had ordered the reforming of the Alliance military structure, all existing military formations were broken into regiments. Highlord Halford Wyrmbane led the First Stormwind Regiment which was to accompany Jonson to take Thandol Span, as it was imperative it did not fall into Horde hands due to the fact it would slow the Alliance advance into the territory of the Forsaken to a crawl. On their way to Thandol they would link up with an Armoured Regiment from Ironforge to give them some much needed support. The other two Stormwind Regiments were to quickly sweep south and expunge the Horde from their base in Stranglethorn Vale so that Stowmwind would not be under threat of siege. The military forces from the Exodar and Darnassus were ordered to force the Horde out of Ashenvale, although they seemed more than reluctant in doing so.

"Do you believe they are ready?" Asked Varian. The question startled Jonson. Of course they were ready.

"Yes I do. As long as the men remember their training and fight together they will be fine." Sure some the of them were nothing more than peasants told how to hold a sword and given armour, but they would be harden in the crucible of war into able soldiers, although he knew not all of them would make it and that was of no real concern to him.

After a month of continuous travel the forces of the First Stormwind Regiment and Second Armoured Regiment of Ironforge had arrived at Thandol Span. Moral was high and the troops, though well disciplined, were aching for a battle. The Horde were not going to disappoint. On the other side of the massive bridge stood fifteen thousand Forsaken, the bulk of them seasoned veterans fresh from the fight against Arthas himself in Northrend. It would be a bloody battle, but one that must be fought. It would be a tough battle. The bridge was serving as a bottleneck, making the Alliances number count for little.

"In front of me stands one of the proudest fighting forces I have ever seen." Jonson addressed his men, even though he personally thought nothing needed saying. "Today you will fight one of the most important battles of your lives, for the existence of the very Alliance that you hold dear. Let those that stand before you die, and those that beg for mercy receive none. From this moment allow no room for respite and humanity. There is only war and brutality."

Just as he was finishing his speech he saw movement in the Forsaken lines. Suddenly three objects were in lazy arc, ready to collide with the packed ranks of Alliance soldiers. Jonson knew what this was. The Forsaken plague, anathema to all life.

"CHARGE!" ordered Jonson, knowing there was not much time to spare before the barrels of lethal toxin hit home. It was not the start to the battle he was hoping for, but it would have to do. With that one small word, so much changed in an instant. The Alliance ranks surged forward with Lion El' Jonson in the lead, closer to the Forsaken ranks than thought possible in such a small time. At that moment the plague barrels also collided with the Alliance troops. Over two hundred soldiers were killed in but a few seconds, nothing left of their body but a sickening green paste. However the First Stormwind Regiment still advanced with their resolve hardened their only thought now to avenge their fallen comrades.

The first ranks of the Forsaken raised their shields in front of them, creating a barrier of steel before them. A hail of arrows rained from ranks of Forsaken archers, falling even more Alliance troops. The steam tanks were rendered useless by the massive melee about to occur on the bridge, unwilling to runover their own side.

Just before the second volley of arrows were fired the Alliance lines crashed like a mighty wave into the rocks that were the Forsaken line and the battle was on. Jonson shoved his massive shoulderpad into the Forsaken soldier that attempted to hold the line against him. The unlucky Forsaken was knocked down and watched in agonizing terror as Jonson's boot descended upon him crushing the better part of his torso. The Primarch paid no heed to the first Forsaken casualty of the battle and proceeded to swing Ashkandi, cleaving three Forsaken in twain with a single stroke. Swords were raised in retaliation against him but none could pierce his adamantium shell. Scores of Alliance troops followed him into the hole he created, hacking and slashing at the foul abominations before them. Bolts of pure shadow collided with Jonson's chest, give him a moment's pause.

Jonson was a rallying point for the Alliance troops. A whirlwind of gore, a primal force he was an unstoppable force meeting a quite movable object. All that stood against him were slaughtered, all that ran from him were cut down. Nothing short of a dark miracle could stop the mighty primarch, and that is what the treacherous Forsaken had.

Green fire rained down from the sky rocks burning from the aether. One impacted right in front of the mighty killing machine, knocking him down. As he rose he peered into the crater. Rising up from the inside of the crater was an eldritch creature of rock and fire and upon seeing Jonson it unleashed a bellowing roar. All around him more craters formed, all with the same creatures that were slaved to the will of the Forsaken.

He met the foul abominations challenged with jumping into the crater and attempting to stab the creature though it's chest. The sword did little more than clang of, having no noticeable effect. In response the mighty infernal swung as Jonson in his moment of disbelief, knocking him to the side and scorching his armour.

Jonson knew a new approach was needed so he took a page from his damnably foolish brother Leman Russ and charged the infernal head on and threw all of his strength into one savage blow. As his fist impacted with the infernal's "torso" cracks spread about it, clearly not intended to be able to weather the blow of one of the Emperor's sons. The rock that formed its chest cracked then shattered, the rest of the rocks forming it falling to the ground with no life in them.

As he pulled himself out of the crater, he saw hundereds of dead Alliance troops around him, but most of the infernals were dead by now, dragged down by the sheer mass of Alliance troops. War hammers were levied against them and paladins cried out to the Light to aid them, smashing the eldritch daemons asunder. The tanks of Ironforge were able to advance now, indiscriminately crushing the corpse of the dead in an effort to cut down the routed forces of the Forsaken.

The Battle of Thandol span was won, but with massive casualties. 3,029 soldiers were killed with an additional 2,567 wounded. The Forsaken lost almost eight thousand soldiers that day, almost on thousand of them felled by Jonson's blade.

The Battle was over, but the war was just getting started.


End file.
